Perhaps this is cheating (posting twice in one day), but I feel the need to share what I learned today in the news. While sucking down my fountain Diet Pepsi, I looked at my news feeds (loving Feedly). I must share what I learned from these two articles. Honestly, I merely want to give my opinion on these articles, but...
First, the bad news is Rusty The Panda was lost. The good news is that Rusty the Panda has been found. It seems there were tweets all day about Rusty which may (or may not) have helped with his capture. After doing a bit of research, I learned that the red panda typically "grow to the size of a house cat." The above picture of Rusty is adorable to quite adorable, but how do they know it's not Ranger Rick?
Next, it seems that the conservatives are opposed to the Common Core. They're saying that "Washington should stay out of the classroom." Really?! Now, unlike many teachers, I am not opposed to standards/benchmarks. Having common standards and benchmarks seems acceptable. I am greatly opposed to testing the shit out of all of our students. Testing has nothing to do with benchmarks. Teachers know how students are preforming without a barrage of testing. Of course I'm opposed to telling teachers how to meet the benchmarks (i.e. how to teach). The past weekend I had brunch with a friend. Her students go to an elementary school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She spends a lot of time volunteering in their school. Plus, she substitutes for a variety of schools in the neighborhood. She asked me what I thought about Common Core. Of course, I gave my opinion, but I immediately understood that we were not talking about the same thing. In her mind, and obviously in the mind of this school, Common Core means every teacher teaches the same thing, in the same exact manner, at the same pace. There is no room for differentiation. Common Core in this school seems to be a boxed curriculum that everyone teaches instead of benchmarks to attain. If it were that easy, one wouldn't need teachers. It's literally a set curriculum that tells the teachers what to teach and how to teach it. Not only does this seem odd, I wonder why no one (teachers, parents, any thinking person) has not fought this madness. Anyway, I'm glad the Republicans want to keep Washington out of the classroom. Maybe the crazy testing could end, and we could merely teach.
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